Becker's Hospital Review

23 CFO / FINANCE NYC Health + Hospitals Sees Operating Loss Nearly Double to $673M, Cuts 476 Management Positions By Ayla Ellison N YC Health + Hospitals cut 476 man- agement positions aer concluding the third quarter of its fiscal year with an operating loss of $673.3 million, compared to an operating loss of $349.6 million in the same period of fiscal year 2016. e system laid off 396 employees on June 2 and another 80 vacant positions will go un- filled. e layoffs come as NYC Health + Hos- pitals tries to turn around its finances. e public health system expects the workforce cuts to yield $60 million in savings in fiscal year 2018. "[W]e've implemented a difficult but neces- sary action to help build a stronger, more ag- ile, and more stable public healthcare delivery system," said Stanley Brezenoff, interim pres- ident and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals. "By restructuring and reducing unnecessary layers of management, we can better direct resources where we need them most — at the front line of patient care." Affected employees remained on payroll for two weeks and received lump sum payments for their accumulated leave times. ey kept health insurance coverage until the end of June. e system told Becker's Hospital Review it is still on track to shrink its budget gap this fis- cal year, despite its financial performance in the most recent quarter. "We look forward to concluding FY 2017 [on June 30] having ex- ceeded the $779 million gap closing identified in the beginning of the year and expecting to close with $185 million cash on hand," the system said in a statement to Becker's Hospital Review. "And we have already identified $1.2 billion in gap-closing initiatives for FY 2018." e 11-hospital system reported operating revenues of $6.7 billion in the three-month period, which ended March 31, up 1.8 per- cent from revenues of $6.6 billion in the same period of the year prior, according to unau- dited financial statements. Although the system's total operating rev- enues increased year over year, net patient service revenues declined 9 percent due to lower payments from the disproportion- ate share hospital and upper payment limit programs. NYC Health + Hospitals receives DSH payments for serving a high proportion of low-income patients. UPL payments help hospitals reduce losses on providing care to Medicaid patients. NYC Health + Hospitals' revenue gains in the third quarter of fiscal year 2017 were offset by higher expenses. e system reported operat- ing expenses of $7.4 billion in the third quarter of fiscal year 2017, up 6.4 percent from $6.9 billion in the same period of the year prior. e system ended the third quarter of fiscal year 2017 with an operating loss of $673.3 million, compared to an operating loss of $349.6 million in the same quarter of fiscal year 2016. n 'Save Copper Basin Medical Center!!': Rural Hospital Seeks to Raise $100k on GoFundMe By Molly Gamble W ithin the first two weeks of May, a rural critical access hospital in Copperhill, Tenn., halted inpa- tient care, laid off at least 15 nurses and activated a GoFundMe page in hopes of raising $100,000. As of early June, the nonprofit, 21-bed hospital received donations from 73 people, totaling $5,479. Along with gifts ranging from $25 to $1,000, donors shared messages of support: "Let's save our hospital!!" "Please donate to this important cause!!" "The next 45 days will be our most critical period for surviv- al of Copper Basin Medical Center," wrote CFO Tim Henry on the GoFundMe page. "We have endured needed staff reductions and are critically short on supplies." Mr. Henry told the Times Free Press he and his colleagues hope to secure enough funding to reopen inpatient ser- vices by October, when the next fiscal year begins. Outpa- tient services are still available at the hospital. The Times Free Press also reports Copper Basin Medical Center offered patients with past-due accounts a "two- for-one special." Per mailing letters dated May 10 from the hospital, patients can earn a credit that matches the amount paid this month toward their overdue bills. "Please take advantage of this opportunity to significantly reduce your hospital account balance and provide much needed help to Copper Basin Medical Center," the letter reads. The hospital suspended its inpatient services May 9 and ter- minated employment of more than 15 nurses, according to WRCBTV. At the time the nurses were laid off, some were still waiting for paychecks for up to the last four weeks of work. Last June, the staffing agency that provided Copper Basin Medical Center's ER physicians cut ties after claiming the hospital did not pay clinicians for six weeks. A local report from May 2016 states the hospital was behind on bills and insurance premium payments and was borrowing money to meet payroll. n

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